Venom: First Host #3
Matthew David Clarke
Recap
We start where the last issue left off, with Eddie bereft at the loss of his symbiote. Liz is livid. She lifts Eddie off the ground… hang on a minute, nah she’s the Skrull warbride M’Lanz. The real Liz and four security guards, put a stop to proceedings. M’Lanz is similarly upset. Through a series of flashbacks she explains that, with the symbiote, Tel’Kar will release a bioweapon and wipe out the Skrull.
Meanwhile, Tel’Kar drags the symbiote against its will off-planet. He is apparently able to control the symbiote and force it to remain bonded to him.
Eddie and Steve show Tel’Kar’s map to M’Lanz. Eddie insists on joining her in pursuit. The young symbiote offspring bonds with Eddie to help save its parent.
Tel’Kar arrives at the Skrull bioweapon facility disguised as M’Lanz and kills the waiting guards.
Eddie and M’Lanz are enroute. He tells her about his new symbiote’s pheromone and chemical abilities. Tel’Kar has already reached the weapon. To be continued…
Review
One of the few positives is early on, so I’ll start with that. I like Eddie’s dependence upon the symbiote: “How long, in all this quiet, until I go mad?” is a very strong line. Unfortunately, it might be the only good bit of writing in the issue.
We’re soon sucked into more flashbacks. Most of this series seems to be flashbacks. All at gunpoint mind you. Because if you want to squat down and have a nice, long relaxing info-dump, really work through some stuff, it’s best to do it with four automatic weapons pointed at your head, am I right? How are we on issue three and they’re STILL explaining the plot?
Unfortunately, the art gets dragged down with the dialogue. There is one nice panel in particular with the symbiote enveloping Tel’Kar but so much time is given to the bad dialogue taking place in the lab that the art is rarely the focus. The artist doesn’t appear to have been given much of interest to do. I have never struggled to pick out pages to use in a review before.
A few more positives, I do like Dono Sánchez-Almara’s melancholy blue on the opening page, mirroring Eddie’s eyes and his mood. In the same section, Clayton Cowles brittle lettering for Eddie’s internal monologue is very appropriate.
The problem is that fiction relies on goodwill and in the last two issues this series has burnt through it all. I’ve just lost the will to give this series the benefit of the doubt, go with it and suspend my disbelief. Once you’ve lost faith in a series like that it’s difficult to go back. When you’re not swept up in the story, all the flaws stick out like carpet tacks.
Final Thoughts
The first issue was promising, it had Venom popping criminals’ skulls in a convenience store, what happened? How can this possibly be the same series? The second issue was nonsense, the third dives deeper into the nonsense, disappearing up inside itself to gaze longingly at its navel from the inside.
Venom: First Host #3: I Don't Want No Skrull
- Writing - 6/106/10
- Storyline - 4/104/10
- Art - 7.5/107.5/10
- Color - 7.5/107.5/10
- Cover Art - 4/104/10